Operation: Late-Night Snack
by NYC the Penguin
Summary: I'm continuing this for a friend. Anyway, here's a basic summary: Someone ate all of Private's winkies! Feeling bad for Private, Skipper decides he wants to take him on a two man operation to the store for a replacement bag, but will this seemingly easy task turn out to be more difficult than the two of them thought? ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**Kowalski: You had to write another fan fiction.**  
**Considering Virus is ending soon, I had to find myself another idea, before I lost my writer's touch. Also, this technically isn't my work. I'm continuing this story for a friend.**  
**Kowalski: Granted. So what is it about?**  
**You'll see. Here's Chapter 1, after a few slight adjustments made by your truly. Enjoy!**

* * *

**A.N. Continuing this story was a request from my good friend Princess Self-Respectra. Thank you for trusting me with it! I promise I'll do my best :)**

**This chapter is written in Private's perspective. Oh yes, it was also written before the episode "Private and the Winky Factory", just to clear things up.  
**

It was a sunny late afternoon. The day gone by slowly so far, but my boredom only grew faster. I waddled over to my bunk and checked underneath my pillow for my peanut butter Winkie discount bag; one hundred and fifty winkies in a bag for the price of fifty. What a smashing deal that was! I bought it at Cost-Go a couple of weeks ago after our vacation at the Hoboken Zoo.

I was devastated to find the bag empty, and not only that but whoever ate it didn't bother to throw away the wrappers. It was hard to distinguish who the culprit was. I've always had my eye on Rico ever since the incident with the candy apple, but Kowalski was the real one with a sweet tooth. However much he tried to hide it, he wasn't fooling anyone. Whoever it was, also left chocolate and peanut butter stains on my pillow!

I needed someone to come with me to the store, for I know Skipper doesn't like it when I go out alone when it's dark out. Ever since going to central park for the Shakespeare plays, he's been even stricter!

The team was busy today. Rico was brushing his doll's hair and he doesn't like being disturbed at the time. Kowalski was experimenting in his lab, so I hesitated before asking him to help me, and from the sounds of it, I didn't want to even disturb him at first. From the other side of the door, I could hear Kowalski clanging around test tubes, while mixtures of formulas bubbled, and his mad scientist laughter echoed off the walls of HQ.

I paused before knocking on Kowalski's lab door, but I pulled myself together and knocked.

"What?" Kowalski asked, ripping his door open and gazing down at me in his goggles.

I have to admit, he scares me whenever he does that. Several times in the past, he almost slammed the door in my beak from opening it to fast.

"I was just wondering if you knew who ate my peanut butter winkies?" I asked nervously.

"_That's_ what you bothered me for? Private,_ please_! Do you really think such a genius, as myself, would have any desire to eat such junk food?"

"Yes." I replied with a deadpan face.

Kowalski rolled his eyes at me.

"Well I didn't eat them. Now please leave me alone, so I can concentrate on _science!"_

* * *

Skipper was seated at the concrete table, staring down at a map. He looked to be in deep thought; I'd hate to ask him for help.

I decided I could have another snack, and turned around to waddle the opposite way from Skipper, but that's when he said something to me.

"Why such the long face, young Private?" Skipper asked.

"Oh..," I turned to face him, "...it's just someone ate all my peanut butter winkies" I replied as I showed him the empty bag.

"Looks like we need to go out on a late night emergency snack run. Commence operation: Late Night Snack!"

"Yay!" I cheered, very surprised to see Skipper in such a jolly mood.

I followed him up the ladder and out of the fish bowl hole. The sun was already leaving the sky, and pretty soon the moon would take its place.

"This way," Skipper said, beckoning me towards the Elephants habitat.

We went into penguin stealth mode, and silently slid in and out between garbage cans and benches, without anyone aware we're there. Next thing I knew we were in the streets of New York.

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**Kowalski: Not too shabby for a first chapter.**  
**Yes... Problem is, we've only got this chapter for starters.**  
**Kowalski: That would mean a lot of work for us.**  
**Ah, well. Let's get writing then.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Kowalski: Let me get my facts right. Someone ate all of Private's Winkies, and Skipper's going out with him to get more?**  
**At least, that's what I can tell from what Princess Self-Respectra gave me.**  
**Kowalski: Also, I find it strange that I haven't noticed this yet, but Skipper somehow also loves peanut butter Winkies.**  
**Yeah... one of the few things I still don't understand about him. Now let's begin Chapter 2!**

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(**A.N. The PoV has shifted to Skipper's for this chapter.**)

It never occurred to me how hard it was to go on a snack run with only the Private late at night.

Traffic was low, so we decided to take the car out with us. Private had wondered why I had to do this close to midnight, in which I simply answered, "It doesn't matter when. NYC is the city that never sleeps, and neither do we." (**A.N. I feel weird saying that I'm a city that never sleeps, LOL**)

While we were cruising along the mostly empty road, something constantly nagged at me. Something that I should have noticed before taking the car out... But even though my gut instinct was always right, I dismissed it as the feeling that this operation could always go wrong any time. I mean, the last time one of us had gone on a snack run without the team... Let's just say we were lucky then. (**A.N. We're talking Most Dangerous Game Night, as this was before Private and the Winky Factory**) I sure hoped we won't be caught off-guards by a human SWAT team. We don't have Marlene desperate for zoo bonding this time.

We screeched to a stop behind a mailbox in front of the Snackitarium. That's when I realised what my gut was trying to tell me throughout the long drive.

Both of my flippers were stuck fast to the steering wheel.

"Is something wrong, Skipper?" Private asked, peering at this awkward situation.

"What... do... you... think?" I grumbled, attempting to dislodge my flippers at every word.

Private peered at the steering wheel. "Hey, what's that smell... WINKIES! Skipper, the wheel's covered with Winkies!"

I stopped my (slightly) violent tug-of-war with the wheel and took a closer look. It was difficult, considering we were still behind the mailbox which blocked out a nearby street lamp's light, but my highly trained eyes saw them.

Someone had left sticky Winky marks on the steering wheel, and some of them were sticking onto my flippers.

"Well, how about that," I remarked, momentarily forgetting my sticky situation, "We've got us another lead on our mysterious Winky bandit."

"I knew Rico was behind this," Private muttered.

"Let's not jump to conclusions on incomplete facts," I objected, for something told me it wasn't Rico this time, "As far as I'm concerned, we may never know who took your Winkies... but to tell the truth I want to know too."

"Ok then," Private climbed out of the car, "Let's get us some more Winkies."

I stood up to go with him, but the wheel tugged at my flippers the moment I did so.

"Uh, you got any ideas for this?"

* * *

After a few trips back and forth between the car and the Snackitarium's water cooler, Private was able to thin out the Winky stains enough for me to free myself from the steering wheel. We sneaked into the shop, carefully avoiding the "silent alarm" Kowalski had told us about after the last Snackitarium skirmish.

"Alright, let's see what they have here..." I began, climbing up onto a shelf.

"They only have boxes!" Private called form across the room.

"Where did you get your Winkies then?" I asked. Come on, it was a perfectly valid question.

"At a Cost-Go," Private answered, "I bought a one-fifty bag for the cost of fifty."

"Whoa wait, you _bought_ it?"

Now I knew this Winky bandit had just done something a lot worse than simply stealing Private's Winkies; he had also wasted Private's own money, and probably put his community college fund at risk, again.

"Private, how many boxes are there?" I jumped down from my shelf and waddled over to the bottom of his.

Private did a quick count. "About five thirty-packs."

I couldn't believe our luck. That made exactly one hundred and fifty Winkies.

"Let's take 'em all," I ordered.

"But Skipper, don't we have to pay for these?" reminded Private.

I groaned and pulled out my wallet. Yes, I have one. Don't tell Rico.

"How much?"

* * *

**Kowalski: (laughs) Skipper has a _wallet_? Who knew?**  
**What, then can you explain where Rico gets his allowance then?**  
**Kowalski: I thought he took it from the cash register in the Zoovenir shop.**  
**WRONG.**  
**Kowalski: Alright Skipper, I won't tell.**  
**Please review!**


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